Little children do that to each other all the time, before they learn to be responsible for their own behaviors. Sadly, some never have the chance to learn that lesson, because no one cares enough to take the risk to try to help them learn it. The following is the success story of one child and the people who loved him enough to risk that love.

    There once was a boy whose mother didn't know how to deal with his lying, cheating, and scheming behaviors. She knew he was angry that his father had abandoned them, and though she had tried to correct and help him, nothing seemed to be working. One summer, she sent him to stay at his grandparent's farm, and he came home from visiting with them a completely changed boy.

    When she asked him what had happened, he told her that every time he misbehaved, got caught and got angry about it, Grandpa made him go to the barn and hammer a big four-inch railroad spike into a four by four. It was hard work, and he wasn't allowed to stop or do anything else until the spike was all the way in. After about 20 trips to the barn, he decided that behaving was much easier than hyammering grandpa's spikes.

    "So Grandpa's punishment made this wonderful change in you" she asked. "No," he replied, "that was Grandma. After I hammered in all those spikes for Grandpa, Grandma took me outside to the barn one day and made me pull every one of them out, and that was even harder than pounding them in!"

    "When I was done, she gave me this note," which he took out of his pocket and gave to his mother. It said," Pulling out the spikes is like being sorry for the bad things you did, but the holes you left behind will always be there. You can never fix those, but you can stop making new ones. Remember, that when you do soemthing ugly, without thinking, or by mistake, you're making a big hole somewhere, that you can never be completely fixed' maybe in someone's heart. That is what your dad did to you. Please stop and think what you are doing before you hammer any spikes into anyone else. God made us for better things than that."

    Then the little boy jumped up to hug his mom around the neck. "I get it now, mom," he said, "We don't need anymore holes around here."

    Can all God's children say AMEN?!

Peace be with you,  

Pastor Burkhart  

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